


quintessentially normal (fundamental emotions)

by Dagran



Series: se souvenir du passe, et qu'il ya un avenir - remember the past, and that there is a future [3]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Canon, Christmas, Cryptid Clockwork, Developing Relationship, Emotional Baggage, Family Dinner, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Time Travel, Vlad's Feelings about Danny's Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dagran/pseuds/Dagran
Summary: let's consider this one bonding exercises for vlad and danny
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Vlad Masters
Series: se souvenir du passe, et qu'il ya un avenir - remember the past, and that there is a future [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914256
Comments: 21
Kudos: 89





	quintessentially normal (fundamental emotions)

**Author's Note:**

> the other two flew outta my fingers but this one i had to wrestle into existence  
> it is done now and i finally have a title
> 
> "He walks through your future, but he's in the past as well. He's always in shadows, never in the light. And though he's dangerous, the shadowed man doesn't pose a threat to you." - A Discovery of Witches

**VLAD**

On the basis that there were ghosts, Vlad was willing to believe a number of things. He’d spent years separating fact from fiction and had filled more than one notebook in his endeavour to find out all that he could about the artefacts of the ghost world. It was how he’d known about Pariah Dark, the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire. About Vortex and where to find him once he’d been captured, and so much more.

However, there were a few things that Vlad had faithfully subscribed to fiction and Clockwork was one of those things. _Beings._

Though he had met many who believed in his existence, he hadn’t met a single ghost who had actually met the Master of Time in person. Or thought it possible in their lifetime.

Sceptically Vlad glanced up at the tower looming before them. He’d stopped listening to Danny’s chattering as it had neared, caught in his own thoughts and the sight in front of them.

Perhaps, Vlad thought as he studied the tower, this was merely an imposter. It wouldn’t be the first time that a ghost had taken another’s name, he himself was a culprit to such doing. Although Vlad couldn’t say that it had been entirely on purpose, but he had found texts with faint letters on yellowed pages mentioning a ghost called Plasmius. He had then, however, very deliberately decided to keep the name anyway.

Enough time, to make it hard to find the name, had passed that he couldn’t see any harm in it.

The aura that surrounded the tower however was completely different from anything else in the ghost world. It belonged. That was for sure, the tower had been here before its inhabitant, but the ghost Danny called Clockwork? Vlad wanted to be surer of his previous statement than he felt.

“How did you say you met him again?”

“One of his amulets got me here one time,” Danny replied and made his way towards the door.

Judging by the tone in his voice it was a lot more complicated than an amulet, but Danny didn’t sound like he wanted to elaborate right now either so he dropped the subject and followed him inside.  
It looked more like the inside of a gigantic clock than the inside of a clock tower.

Vlad studied the ticking cogs overhead with mild fascination. He’d seen quite a few contraptions in his years in the Ghost Zone but this was new.

It felt like standing in the centre of a grandfather clock only that the gears were exposed. Softly the rattled the seconds away.

“Who do have we here,” a voice said that Vlad automatically attributed to Clockwork, although he couldn’t see him, yet. “Visitors,” the voice of a child added and a surprisingly small ghost floated into view.

“He asked to meet you,” Danny explained, Vlad saw his gesturing only from the corner of his eye for his attention was entirely captivated by the little ghost in front of them.

“I suspected as much,” Clockwork replied, a little smile showing on his face. Seconds after he had spoken his form shifted into that of an adult. “Though I would have expected you to find me on your own, Plasmius,” he mused. With the little furrow in his brows he looked almost displeased, almost disappointed with that fact.

Vlad kept staring.

He was pretty good at convincing himself that seeing is believing, but seeing alone didn’t quite encompass Clockwork. If seeing was all there was to it then Clockwork wouldn’t raise his hackles like _that_.

The barest hint of a smile showed on Clockwork’s face as if he could tell that Vlad perceived a lot more than Danny did. Vlad glanced at Danny, then back at Clockwork. Not quite sure what to make of the situation. Could he really _not_ tell? “It was the easiest way,” he admitted with a little shrug, as he turned back to Clockwork.

“But _so_ late,” Clockwork sighed, shifting into an elder. The smile he showed Danny however was approving, before his expression became reprimanding, “ _don’t_ bring any more strangers into this place.”

Vlad wanted to ask who, in the name of anything that was holy, else Danny had brought here but couldn’t find the words. He also wanted to ask why Clockwork chastised Danny like one would their own child. But instead Vlad shelved that thought to consider its implications later. Currently, too preoccupied with the fact that Clockwork didn’t smell like a ghost. Or a halfa, although that was less surprising. He and Danny were the only two in existence.

Yet for all that Vlad could see Clockwork was a ghost. The discrepancy between what his eyes and nose were telling him was only broken when Clockwork conjured a pot of tea and three cups out of seemingly thin air.

“I thought ghosts didn’t need to eat… or drink,” he questioned, seemingly speaking the same thought Danny had had.

“But you are not _just_ ghosts,” Clockwork replied matter-of-factly. He poured three cups and touched each of them with a finger before gently pushing two of them towards their destination. Without the slightest wobble they floated through the air.

Instinctively Vlad’s hands clasped around the warm cup and when he tried to drink he realised that it had his exact preferred temperature. A little smile showed on Clockwork’s face.

“Conversations are so much more fun, don’t you agree?” He said, turning his attention to Vlad. Glancing at Danny he added, “I find tea makes for much more tranquil conversation partners.” As if answering an unasked question.

And he liked to drink it. Vlad could tell from Clockwork’s expression. Again he glanced at Danny who appeared to be utterly oblivious to _what_ Clockwork was. Which answered one of the many questions Vlad had.

Either that or he didn’t care. Or didn’t know. Perhaps a combination of all three of those. Vlad wasn’t sure, but this was the wrong time to question it.

Instead Clockwork had questions, although Vlad was certain he knew the answer to most of them while Danny was telling him about what he’d been up to. It was, to say the least, not what he had expected. To be honest, he hadn’t expected any of this. It was evident however, that Clockwork enjoyed the conversation.

The tea helped Vlad focus, but it only helped him focus on the fact that he didn’t know how Clockwork managed to give off the visual impression of a ghost while very clearly not being one. Clockwork however seemed to have no intention of letting Danny think any different than what he believed him to be. It was admirable, considering that Vlad wasn’t sure how anyone could miss the obvious here, but it didn’t help him.

Clockwork was as real to the ghosts as Mothman was to humans. However, that didn’t seem to be all there was to it.

Vlad wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to convey that to Danny. If at all.

Absent-minded to the conversation the other two were having Vlad studied the portal. It didn’t look all that much different from any regular ghost portal, and given that those could by nature open to any place and time possible perhaps one had borrowed from the other. Still he found himself muttering, “aren’t you two awfully familiar with each other…” It was mostly an observation.

“I’ve been here like twice a week, every week for your sake,” Danny replied with a little smile on his face and nodded towards the portal Vlad had previously been studying.

“I should thank you,” Clockwork added quietly with a little twinkle in his eye. “Company is nice, isn’t it?” His expression seemed to say.

Vlad could only agree, but he couldn’t help the little frown when he studied Clockwork, ever shifting just like the passage of time. Wondering if he’d agreed to Danny’s proposal because he understood loneliness all too well himself. Vlad wanted to ask but it didn’t quite feel right to put Clockwork on the spot like that. Somehow _that_ definitely was Danny’s fault.

**DANNY**

Danny had stopped himself short of the entrance of the laboratory. The only thing he’d expected, had wanted to find, was Vlad. Not chaos. Though compared to his parents’ lab this was still quite orderly chaos.

“Uhm, what are you doing?” Danny asked, making his way around the piles of equipment that Vlad had neatly sorted across the tables, and after that when he’d run out of space there on the floor.

“Maintenance,” came the reply from inside the ghost portal out of which soon after Vlad crawled more than stepped.

“Uh-huh.” Danny folded his arms as he studied the other.

For all that Vlad had wanted to see Clockwork, he had been rather peculiar once he’d been in his presence, however Danny had chalked that up to the fact that he was meeting the man who had been instrumental to Danny’s influence on his life. And that was probably more than weird to experience. Although it had seemed like they’d gotten along eventually.

“Is it broken?” Danny asked, though he couldn’t imagine Vlad’s ghost portal breaking unless the cause was an unchanged ecto-filter because that was the only incident that he knew off.

“No,” the implication clearly offended Vlad, “I’m exchanging some of the interior to _improve_ it.”

A quiet laugh escaped Danny’s lips, followed by a thoughtful little sound.

“Daniel, if you’re only here to gawk and make snappish remarks, I suggest you leave,” Vlad replied dryly without even looking at him. Instead he focused on the part he’d extracted from the portal. With practiced fingers he removed a chip and what looked like two cards, which he slipped into the breast pocket of his lab coat. Despite expectations he didn’t wear it over his suit, in fact Vlad wasn’t even wearing a suit.

“I didn’t know you owned anything but suits,” Danny mused instead of doing what he said.

The t-shirt and pants looked quite comfortable and though they had obviously seen better days it was evident that Vlad had taken good care of them to make them live as long as they had.

“You look kinda like when I first visited you…” he muttered quietly. And though Danny for some reason hoped differently, Vlad had hear him.

Vlad who had previously been rummaging through a pile of small electronic parts to add to the board he’d been holding stopped and looked over at him. He looked like he was trying to decide what to do with that statement, although Danny couldn’t have helped him even if he asked.

“It’s weird, but nice,” Danny decided after a moment of thinking about it.

Vlad paused, then pulled a card-like device from his pocket and tossed it into Danny’s hands who caught with more ease than expected. “Find the other of these and put them into the back wall of the portal.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Danny sighed. It was one thing if he had to swing back ecto-energy, another if it were real world items that they were tossing around. “I’m not responsible if I don’t catch it and it breaks – just saying.” Looking around Danny realised another flaw in Vlad’s plan. “Do you even know where this thing is?”

“One of the piles in the back I think…” Vlad replied absent-mindedly.

With an affirmative sound on his lips Danny looked at electronics gathered to his left and right, sighing as he realised that it might take a few minutes. “You know…” Danny thought out loud while comparing a device that looked almost like the one Vlad had given him, but not quite, before putting it down again and continuing to rummage through the stacks on the table. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you do this.”

“Do what?”

“You know… normal scientist stuff? I mean I know _factually_ that you built all this,” vaguely Danny gestured around the laboratory. “But I’ve never seen you _do_ any of that, mum and dad used to work on stuff all the time.” Vlad grumbled something that seemed to ask what difference it made. “Well, I thought you were an evil, soul-sucking vampire hellbent on destroying my life so I guess watching you do normal things is something I will have to get used to,” he teased lightly in response. In the silence that followed Danny quietly admitted, although more to himself, “it’s nice, isn’t it?”

Vlad’s only a reply was a quiet, warm hum, which by itself wasn’t indicative of anything – its tone however spoke volumes.

It took a moment or two but Danny found what Vlad had wanted him to look for. Hoping to get further instructions he asked him what to do with it.

“Straight towards the back, there’s an open panel, just slot both of them in there,” Vlad instructed him as Danny neared the ghost portal.

He stopped just short before its entrance. It had been years since he’d thought about the accident, and even more since he’d been inside a ghost portal like this. Sure, he’d stepped through it dozens of times to visit the Ghost Zone, but then it had been on and working. And not…

“This is off right?” Danny asked, feeling awfully silly for doing so in the first place but the fluttery feeling in his stomach wasn’t going to let him take another step without an answer to that question.

Clearly distracted Vlad replied, “Danny we both know your father is an idiot, but I like to believe that you inherited your mother’s braincells, by which I mean I wholeheartedly believe in your ability to tell for yourself whether the ghost portal is off or not.”

The corner of Danny’s mouth quirked upwards. Any other time he might had defended his father or at least given Vlad a reply of the same design, but right now he was more occupied with beating that stupid anxiety to a pulp so he could perform the task he’d been given.

“And the power has been cut off?”

“Of course, Daniel,” Vlad sighed. Briefly Danny felt his eyes on him, as if Vlad glanced over his back.

“Cool,” Danny muttered and gathered all his courage to step into the portal. It was only a little step, but felt much bigger to him. “Just making sure, cause you know, the first time I died it was in one of these fuckers that wasn’t supposed to work...” Within a few quick steps Danny had reached the end of the portal and found the open panel. And just like Vlad had said he could simply insert the card-like devices into the empty slots. “Do you want me to close the panel?” Danny asked, studying the plate which had covered the panel.

When Vlad didn’t answer and he couldn’t find the screws he shrugged and happily exited the portal again. “I asked if you wanted the panel closed,” he repeated, frowning at Vlad’s stare. “Something… on my face?”

“You _what_?”

Somehow, Danny was sure Vlad wasn’t as calm as he sounded when he asked that. “I… died in there?” He offered, glancing back at the portal and vaguely gesturing at it. “Well, not _that_ one, the one my parents built… Vlad?”

The corners of Vlad’s mouth raised like chews for the briefest of moments to bare his teeth and something cold had overshadowed his eyes. The word that came out of his throat was almost inhuman but Danny understood it perfectly anyway. – “ _Jack_.” It was followed by a string of insults.

“Hey, no murdering my dad, he doesn’t even _know_ that I am dead, that would be so awkward,” Danny replied in an attempt to lighten the mood, but did nothing of that sort.

However, Vlad took a deep breath before he spoke again. “What happened?”

“I was curious,” though it had taken Sam and Tucker to admit that to himself. Danny shrugged. “I didn’t think it would work, mum and dad _both_ said that it _didn’t_ …” Danny glanced at his left palm. “I didn’t look what I was doing and before I knew what had happened I had my hand on the button to turn it on, you can imagine the rest…”

There was something unnerving about the silence that answered him, but then again he’d never told anyone how it had happened. Not even Jazz when she had found out about his powers. Carefully he glanced at Vlad to gauge his reaction, not quite certain what he expected though.

What he saw mirrored how Danny knew others might expect him to feel, but there was none of Vlad’s cold fury in him. It was well concealed, but Danny had spent enough time with him to realise when it was bubbling up regardless. “You don’t have to get angry on my behalf…” That was, however, a feeble request. “You’re _not_ going after dad for this,” Danny repeated after a pause and folded his arms. His father’s wellbeing felt strangely irrelevant in that equation as he studied the look in Vlad’s eyes.

Within a few steps he had made his way over to Vlad. “Deep breath,” he advised and felt his own chest rise and fall when Vlad followed it. “I appreciate the sentiment, but _no_ ,” Danny remarked kindly but firmly.

“That imbecile deserves–” The rest of Vlad’s words were lost in his grumbling. When he at last managed to speak again he said, “you have no idea how lucky you were, that portal could have disintegrated your body entirely, it could have poisoned you, blinded you, disfigured you, electrocuted you or even boiled you alive and you’re telling me I should just drop it?”

“Yes…” Danny admitted, a little awkwardly now. Of course, it had occurred to him that he’d been lucky, but somehow, he hadn’t ever considered that the worst outcome wouldn’t have been death and neither with such clarity that it made him shudder. “No. Murder.” He insisted, still.

“Fine,” Vlad said. Danny knew that he didn’t mean it. And just like that the portal opened and they weren’t in the lab anymore.

Which was to say they weren’t in Vlad’s laboratory anymore, however, Danny realised they were in his parents’ lab.

“Oh no,” he muttered. Somewhere upstairs he could hear his parents talking, but he couldn’t focus on what was said. “What the hell were you thinking?” Danny hissed. Shaking Vlad by the arm he’d grabbed him by just in time to be portaled here with him together. There was no way in hell he could explain his and Vlad’s presence, in the lab no less. Not to mention their clothes.

Plasmius and Phantom perhaps, but not their human selves.

“I wasn’t–” The rest of Vlad’s reply was lost in a quiet frustrated sound. “You’re with _me_ , on _my_ side – I’m not going to let this stand,” Vlad growled.

“Our side,” Danny reminded him sharply, and knew that Vlad’s words were nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse to revive an old grudge. “Now shut up, they’re gonna hear us.” Danny shot a brief glance towards the stairs and before Vlad could utter another protest he turned them invisible, taking advantage of the fact that he was still boring his fingers into Vlad’s arm. “We’re getting out of here, we’re going to back to your mansion and you’re not going to shank my dad,” he insisted.

“He. _Killed_. You.”

“ _Half-killed_ , and it wasn’t him that convinced me to go into the damn portal–”

“He could have _locked_ it,” Vlad growled. Underneath his palm Danny could feel the familiar transformation tingle, but before Vlad could go through with it, he’d dragged him through the side of the house, upwards through the concrete and into the alley where he materialised them. Within a few quick steps they had left the alley and were now out in the open. The streets were almost empty but that was of no importance.

As much as he wanted to glare at him and argue his disagreement – Danny couldn’t. His father couldn’t have just locked it, he could have cut off the power to the ghost portal in the first place and made sure it really wouldn’t function. But he hadn’t. And his mother hadn’t either. In a way it was her fault just as much. “We’re leaving!”

He didn’t want to take the anger and disappointment over that out on Vlad, he was better than that. But Vlad’s insistence to get back at his father was putting them in mighty thin ice with the subject.

However, they didn’t even get across the street.

“Danny!” – “V-Man! Hi son!”

Closing is eyes Danny forced out a deep breath and ground his teeth. “Oh _no_ …” He groaned. His shoulders hunched forward, in half an attempt to hide, and half an attempt make a beeline out of here. Momentarily utterly unconcerned about how he and Vlad might look to the public or his parents, only certain that they made an odd pair. Vlad in hi lab coat, full of things from his portal, and he in his washed-out hoodie and jeans – barefoot because he hadn’t planned on leaving the mansion for the foreseeable future. (Until his paper was done, but unfortunately the deadline wasn’t immediate enough to make it urgent for him).

With a forced smile Danny turned around. As happy as he was to see both of them, he really wanted the circumstances to be anything _but_ this.  
It took nothing more than that for his mother and father to swoop him into their arms and then alongside Vlad through the door. As if they didn’t make the oddest pair. Though Danny wasn’t sure if he meant himself and Vlad with that or his parents.  
It took his parents about another thirty seconds to decide that Vlad and he were going to stay for dinner. It was, of course, non-negotiable. And for the first time since he’d met him Danny was glad that his mother’s presence was able to vaporise all the contempt Vlad held for his father. However, Danny quickly realised, that that lasted only as long as his mother was present in the same room.

“College project,” they had answered in unison when his parents had wanted to know what they were doing here. The answer had neither been planned nor practiced, and under different circumstances might’ve been entertaining, but now Danny was simply glad that it was enough for his parents.

A myriad of other questions followed, only interrupted by his father’s demonstrations of their newest inventions. Through which Vlad sat with what Danny could only describe as a mildly tormented expression on his face. Some might have called it disinterest but Danny knew that the far off look in his eyes came from restraint rather than boredom.

Vlad had shed his lab coat, but kept his neatly bundled up in his lap. Danny figured it was to make sure its contents didn’t end up in his father’s hands. From there it would only be seconds until his mother would recognise what they were for and now that he thought about it had never occurred to him, Danny realised, and that his parents didn’t even know that Vlad had a lab to begin with. A lab like theirs. Which, admittedly, made Vlad’s concern quite understandable.

Under the guise of their project Danny had eventually extracted himself to his room, and dragged Vlad with him before he would make his father’s demise fact instead of fiction.

Plopping himself down on his desk chair Danny folded his arms on its backrest and studied Vlad who simply let himself sink against the door. Briefly Vlad folded his arms before deciding against it and burying his face in one of his hands, and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

It had been long since he’d seen him with his parents, Danny realised, but it felt like nothing had changed. Well, most of it anyway. “I’m not letting you hurt dad.”

“But he deserves it, even Maddie would agree if she knew what he’d done to you”, Vlad grumbled and continued before Danny could do so much as open his mouth. “I know… she’d never have me if I hurt him in front of her eyes, God why do I even care, I could frame him for so many things, she wouldn’t even care about what _I_ did at that point, but–” His voice broke off and the sound that left Vlad’s throat could only be described as disgusted. Disgusted with himself his expression said as his glare focused on Danny.

Idly Danny shifted his chair over the carpeted floor as the same realisation that had dawned on Vlad overcame him. In mock-shock he gasped, “are you having morals?” Danny bit back a small fit of laughter.

“How dare you insin–”

Danny brought a hand up to his chest in a touched gesture. “You’re having morals because of meeee.”

“I will end you, demon-spawn.”

A laugh escaped his throat, Danny couldn’t help himself. And yet, there was something endearing about the thought that made Vlad’s fury utterly unimpressive even when he stalked over and glared down at him, making full use of the fact that he was taller as long as Danny sat on his chair. Innocently Danny smiled up at him.

“Don’t–” Vlad warned him.

“Or what?” Danny pressed, but simply shook his head with a little grin when Vlad wanted to answer. “You know I like you better not married to mum,” he admitted quietly and carefully gauged Vlad’s reaction. With a sigh and closed eyes Danny let his head sink against the back of his chair. “She had to hide her lab ‘n stuff…”

“ _Why_ would I do that?” And though he couldn’t see it, Danny could hear the confusion in his voice.

The grin on his face became weary and Danny idly dragged his foot over the floor. “’Cause that’s… I kinda…” Sighing deeply he lifted his head to look at Vlad. “You remember when you infected Sam and Tucker with ecto-acne just so mum and dad would be forced to cure you?”

“I recall…” Vlad spoke slowly.n

“I knew the mystery component was diet coke, ‘cause I asked Clockwork to let me prevent the accident – he thought it was terrible idea, but I just thought: no accident, no ecto-acne, everybody gets what they want, right?” Quietly Danny scoffed. “I wasn’t wrong, but… look, it doesn’t matter.”

He felt like he was shrinking under Vlad’s scrutiny, before he eventually stated, calmer than Danny had expected, “I think it does.”

Danny took an almost quiet breath. “You,” he swallowed, “you were spared, dad wasn’t,” his gaze focused on the floor. “You married mum and told her dad didn’t wanna see her, and dad to stay the fuck away – the usual thing, and to keep it that way you didn’t let mum hunt ghosts, or have a lab, but–”

“She had one anyway,” Vlad concluded matter-of-factly.

“Yeah,” Danny replied puzzled, before it occurred to him that perhaps Vlad really did pay attention. “You also didn’t have any children, which on behalf of Jazz I am going to take as a personal affront.” She came so obviously after their mother that Danny couldn’t imagine Vlad not doting on her if she had been his daughter. “And if you somehow alter the timeline, just so that you can marry mum, I swear to anything that’s holy to you–”

Danny didn’t get to finish his threat.

“I won’t,” Vlad replied uncharacteristically quiet. “I don’t like it, but _I won’t_.” For your sake. It was the part that he didn’t say, perhaps the part he wasn’t even fully aware of himself, but Danny could easily read it from his words. “I wouldn’t have _you_ , if I did that,” Vlad mumbled so quietly Danny almost didn’t hear it.

“We still need to get through dinner with both of my parents alive though, think you can do that?”

“I don’t think I know how to be not angry at Jack, if that’s what you wanted to know.” Vlad paused, as if it hadn’t really occurred to him himself till he’d spoken it, “but yes I can manage not to murder him, I did so for more than twenty years thank you very much.”

Now it was Danny’s turn to pause, although he wasn’t quite sure he should speak his thought aloud. It had never quite occurred to him how long twenty years really was until he’d been over twenty. It was a terribly long time to be in love with somebody without having your feelings returned. Not that Vlad had done an awful lot to actually win his mother’s heart over. All he’d really ever done was make his father look bad. That in and of itself was a statement about Vlad’s emotions, although a widely different one from what his words often conveyed.

As if he’d read his thoughts Vlad said, “I never expected you to understand. You were fourteen, you may have not realised that, but I never expected an awful lot from you to begin with.”

Of course it had occurred to him, Danny wanted to say, although he had admittedly never given it much thought before. But that had been almost a decade ago.

“I don’t expect it now from you either,” Vlad added with lightly furrowed brows, but there was no judgement in his expression.

The fact that he didn’t, not to the extend that it affected Vlad made Danny more awkward than he wanted to be in this situation. And though he’d rather avert his eyes, Danny forced himself to keep them on Vlad, watching something kind wash over his expression that he couldn’t quite place. It was hope though for what Danny couldn’t say.

With a little grumble Vlad furrowed his brows again and looked away while he muttered something incomprehensible to Danny.

**

From the way Vlad had held his knife Danny suspected that Vlad would have rather stabbed his father instead of cutting the food on his plate. Which meant that Danny had spent the first half of dinner preventing exactly that, although Vlad showed more restraint than he would have thought him capable of. Or perhaps it was the fact that whenever Vlad’s grip on his emotions had been slipping Danny had grabbed his arm under the table and held it still with as much force as needed, till Vlad had calmed down enough to continue dinner without incident.

In those moments Vlad spoke less, focused on his food and Danny and his mother, leaving his father only as much attention as he had to. And though he looked no less composed than any other time, Danny could tell that the confession which had brought them here was still bubbling beneath the surface.

It was a conversation mismatched in its intentions and expressions, but his father was oblivious to it and his mother could only see the part of it that Vlad had revealed to her. Although Danny suspected that she had a feeling that there was more going on. Being the only one able to see the full picture from all its angels was a strangely lonely feeling, Danny noted silently to himself.

It was the same as it had always been. Almost. Because just this once Danny wasn’t looking for the first opportunity to extract Vlad from the situation.

**

With a sigh Danny let himself sink onto the floor of Vlad’s lab. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling but it was neither good nor terrible. “Congrats on not stabbing my dad,” he sighed and watched as Vlad sorted his lab coat onto one of the tables, paying no regard to the content of its pockets. He’d tried to sound positive and approving although he hadn’t been able to keep his voice from sounding a little dry around the edges, given that it had been a close call several times.  
Vlad looked around his lab as if he was more looking for the motivation to continue than for anything tangible.

“We didn’t have to do that, you know?” Dinner. Everything. Not when it took so much out of him, Danny thought. He would have plenty of other opportunities to visit his parents.

“Do what?” Vlad asked, although he sounded like he knew what Danny was talking about. Putting his arms on his hips Vlad shook his head. “How do you expect me to say no to Maddie when you know how I feel?”  
Silently pondering the question Danny stared holes into the air. “Why didn’t you just portal us away again?” He asked, primarily the air, secondarily Vlad. He could have done it so quick that they wouldn’t even have had to face his parents in the first place.

“ _Daniel_ …”

Thoughtfully Danny regarded him and got up from where he’d been sitting. “Why?” He asked, a lot more carefully than before. He wondered what it was like. To love so much that it bordered on obsession. That a broken heart wasn’t enough to give up. “Do you really think she’s going to give up dad?” For anyone. He hadn’t said it, but Danny hoped his words carried it through anyway. Tilting his head a little, Danny took a cautious step forward. If he ever loved someone like that, Danny hoped he would be able to exert enough common sense and restraint not to end up like Vlad.

Vlad pressed his mouth into a thin quivering line although it was hard to tell what particular emotion had caused the tremor.

Awkwardly Danny stopped in his tracks. “Look,” he wasn’t even sure where he was going with this. After all his infatuation with Paulina was in no way comparable to this. He’d never considered having a chance with her to begin with, so accepting her rejection hadn’t been so hard. (Which didn’t mean that it hadn’t hurt.) Rubbing his arm Danny averted his gaze. “I don’t really…”

“You don’t have to do anything, Danny,” Vlad said with grim earnest. His expression softened a little when he sighed. “You don’t have to do anything at all.”

That didn’t feel right, Danny thought with a frown, although he couldn’t quite say why that was. There was a question on his tongue that he had a feeling he shouldn’t ask.

For now he didn’t.

**VLAD**

He couldn’t say what had drawn him back to Clockwork’s tower. Perhaps an opportunity to speak alone with him now that he’d more or less accepted that Danny was friends with the Ghost Zone’s Mothman. Which was an entire other conversation he needed to have with Danny and completely unrelated to everything else that was going on right now.

“My, what a surprise,” Clockwork’s adult form mused when he spotted Vlad.

Although he hadn’t meant to lurk, Vlad had made no effort to alert Clockwork to his presence either. But then again, he didn’t feel like it was necessary. Something told him Clockwork could sense his presence just as well as he could sense that the other wasn’t entirely what he masqueraded as.

“ _What_ are you?” The question came out unintentionally but now that it was out Vlad wasn’t going to take it back either. It had been long, Vlad realised, since he’d been this curious about something in the Ghost Zone.  
Clockwork’s elder form smirked at him, but refrained from answering otherwise. “Why are you here?”

“To find out what someone like you intends to do with Danny,” Vlad replied. It wasn’t quite the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.  
Clockwork pondered the question for a full cycle before he matter-of-factly replied, “he’s _my_ responsibility.” A pause. “Not quite in the same way you might consider him yours, but similar – does that bother you, Vlad?” Clockwork tilted his head, just barely as he spoke.

_He didn’t_ – Instinctively Vlad wanted to object. First without reason, then because Danny was old enough to look after himself, but the rage (old and new) which had filled him when Danny had told him about his death –first death – spoke an entirely different language. Trying to shake the thought Vlad shook his head.

Though he hadn’t phrased it like that it was clear that Clockwork had meant to ask an entirely different question. “No, _you_ don’t,” he admitted, a little grouchy but not because of the question. Neither because it wasn’t what Clockwork had initially asked for. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

But all things considered it was definitely better if the Cryptid of The Ghost Zone liked Danny than the other way around.

If he focused hard enough Clockwork’s appearance flickered around the edges, but then again that could be chalked up to the fact that his was ever-changing and not to the fact that he wasn’t what he said. Although, all Clockwork had ever described himself was the Master of Time, he’d never explicitly stated that he was a ghost. “Do you…” Vlad’s voice trailed off. Vaguely he gestured at Clockwork’s figure, “have control over that?” It seemed like something important.

“Why yes,” Clockwork smiled, settled on his adult form and manifested a pair of legs right with it to settle himself on the ground and opposite to Vlad. “But it’s more befitting for the Master of Time, isn’t it?” With a playful smile Clockwork leaned on his staff.

A question formed on Vlad’s tongue, and though he couldn’t bring himself to ask it he had a feeling that Clockwork knew what it was. Briefly, Vlad’s gaze wandered towards the portal. All of time and space at the tips of his fingers. It made him wonder if the Infi-map would have eventually led him here if Danny and his friends hadn’t intervened.

“No,” Clockwork replied as if he’d read the question of his face. “It’s far lonelier here than what you desire.”

Vlad scoffed. “I would’ve been alone anyway.” Surrounded by people or not.

“Yes,” Clockwork conceded, with a strangeness to his voice, “but you enjoy having other people to order around, while I am content watching.” A small pause. “Why isn’t Danny with you?” He asked almost absent-mindedly.

“Busy,” Vlad replied. “College,” he added. “Homework. Ghost hunting. The usual.”

“I do like his company,” Clockwork admitted with a sigh. In a thoughtless murmur he added, “I can see why you’re so obviously fond of him.” Another pause, then his eyes focused on Vlad again, “usually people come here because they want something?” When Vlad raised a brow in response, Clockwork added with a little smile, “I know you quite well, and I know you never want nothing.”

If he hadn’t felt so caught by the question, Vlad might have found it amusing.

“Would you like to stay and watch for a while?” Clockwork offered with a faint smile on his lips, as if knew what was going on in his head.

Curiously Vlad stepped closer to the portal. “Watch what?” he questioned.

“Anything. Everything. Time.” Clockwork replied. He gestured invitingly towards his portal. As if asking what he wanted to see.

Vlad didn’t have to think about that for long.

**DANNY**

With folded arms Danny stood and studied Vlad’s mansion. It had been months since they’d last seen each other and he would have liked to say that college and only college was the culprit but the light snowfall was a steadfast reminder of a different reason that he’d cooped himself up in room and avoided all possible human contact since the start of December.

Somehow, he’d thought that not having his parents around would do plenty to lift his mood during the holidays but college had taught him that no amount of distance could bring out the joy in him that others felt during this time of year.

Awkwardly, Danny knocked on the door. For all that his parents knew he was sick and stuck in his dorm room, utterly unfit for human contact. (He’d made sure of that particular detail). It was what he’d made all them believe, and though Sam and Tucker had seen right through him they had left him to his own devices. Well aware that there was little they could do to quell his frustrations. Admittedly though, he’d thought about asking Sam first, but there was no way his parents wouldn’t find out about that so he’d retreated to the only place he knew nobody would check on him.

“Daniel,” surprise mixed with a sympathetic expression before Vlad seemed to remember what time of year it was and his brows furrowed in a light scowl. “You _should_ be with your parents.” His reprimand was stern but genuine in its concern.

The words however barely reached Danny who’d glanced past Vlad and with precision accuracy spotted the familiar glint and glamour of Christmas decorations. With exasperation Danny groaned and returned the scowl. “What’s an old, lonely man like you got to celebrate Christmas for?” Danny knew that he shouldn’t have said it the moment the words came out of his mouth, but there they were now and though he’d been able to vent some of his frustration he didn’t feel any better for it.

“That was uncalled for,” Vlad replied more calmly than Danny had expected him to and with a little sigh.

A little aggravated growl answered him, and though Danny didn’t really want to he stepped past Vlad into the mansion. Perhaps if the circumstances had been different he would have been able to appreciate the decorations. But he’d come here to escape and their mere presence intruded on the feeling of safety he’d sought. Turning himself intangible Danny let himself sink through the floor, silently hoping that Vlad hadn’t decoated his lab as well.

The first one who found him in his hiding place was Maddie the cat. Vlad soon followed after that.

“I _hate_ Christmas,” he clarified while he hugged Maddie closed to his chest. “I thought I only hated my parents’ arguments but turns out they raised a grinch”, he added dryly.

Vlad sighed with more understanding than he had expected. “Well, you’ll have to thank Maddie for it, she adores Christmas decorations.”

The idea that the cat named after his mother who remained adamant that Santa was a hoax, adored all things Christmas was almost ridiculous enough to make him laugh, however Danny only frowned at the furry bundle in his arms. “Traitor,” he muttered, while Maddie looked at him with her big, innocent amber eyes.

“Mrow.”

Clearly, she had no idea what he was talking about.

Vlad sighed once more. “If you intend to stay, I insist you come out of laboratory, I think you’ll find my office a little more agreeable.”

_Agreeable_ was quite the right term considering that the office hadn’t been spared the holiday decorations, however they were much sparser here. The moment he entered Maddie sorted herself out of his arms and zoomed over to a fir garland decorated with dried fruit, spices and small Christmas ornaments. He watched as she playfully attacked it and wrestled a small gleaming Christmas ball from it after pawing to no avail at a loose stick of cinnamon.

“You really are doing all this only for your cat,” he observed, mildly bewildered.

Vlad agreed with a quiet hum as they silently watched Maddie carry her trophy off.

“Just to let you know, mum and dad would know if you overshadowed me and showed up for Christmas.” Alright that was almost too much credit, but Jazz would certainly realise that something was going on. However the finer details didn’t matter, all that was important was that Vlad wouldn’t get away with it. “I’m sorry about earlier…” He added after a moment of pause.

“No hard feelings,” Vlad shrugged.

Floating over to the desk Danny settled into the chair behind it and laid his feet in the desk for maximum comfort. The last time he’d been here he’d sat on the other side of it and they had talked about Clockwork.

Within a flash Vlad appeared behind him. “Get your feet off the table, little badger,” he demanded with quiet authority and his hands on the back of the chair that Danny was sitting in.

Daring Danny glanced up but quickly decided that it wasn’t worth fighting over so he conceded anyway. “Christmas just makes me bitter and frustrated and mean and- oh _God_ , I’m turning into you…”

Vlad decidedly ignored the needling, and instead carefully broached another subject, “what were parents fighting about?” 

Throwing his hands up the exasperation returned to Danny’s face. “What they _always_ fight about – Santa exists Maddie, I will prove how all he’s doing is possible now!” He’d jumped up and turned into a ghost to easier suspend himself in the air. “No, Santa couldn’t possibly fly around the world in one night!” He imitated his mother’s response. “And since the incident with the Ghost Writer they occasionally switch it up to ‘It was ghosts, Maddie, ghosts I tell you!’ – ‘Jack, it was Santa, ghosts wouldn’t ever possibly do something nice for humanity!’”

The incredulous look on Vlad’s face was broken by a fit of suppressed laughter, which Danny couldn’t share although a part of him wished for it. “They don’t,” Vlad stated, after muttering a brief apology for laughing, as if it needed confirmation.

“They’ve been at it _since before I was born_ ,” Danny replied dryly.

“But you’re too old to believe in Santa anyway,” Vlad observed sensibly. Now a little more composed than before and still with his hands on the back of the chair.

“Yeah, well, _dad_ isn’t,” Danny replied and that settled it. Or so he thought because Vlad’s face sank as something had occurred to him. “What’s wrong?”

Biting the inside of his lip Vlad only shook his head. He didn’t look as amused as before, but Danny could tell that something was on his mind. “You can stay however long you like, I won’t tell you parents, just try… I’d appreciate if you didn’t take it out on me, or…” Vlad gestured loosely at the decorations, “Maddie’s toys.” His cat’s name was rough as he said, as if it took effort to do so with a relatively even voice.

“Sure,” Danny muttered with slightly furrowed brows when Vlad attempted to leave. And then, a decided, “no,” because he wasn’t going to let Vlad walk away like this. A grouchy Christmas mood was his thing, not Vlad’s. “Tell me…”

“She’d rather believe in Santa than that ghosts aren’t inherently evil,” the words tumbled out in poorly disguised hurt. Vlad scoffed and mouth quirked into a bitter line. The way he’d said it, it had sounded almost like a realisation he’d already been aware of even if not consciously before.

Awkwardly Danny remained suspended in air where he’d stopped after trying to follow him, before Vlad had spoken. He hadn’t considered… And now he felt all the more stupid for it. Of course. – He could imagine what it was like to some extent, they were talking about his mother after all who occasionally still mentioned how she wanted to tear apart the ghost boy molecule by molecule. Who by all means wasn’t a boy anymore but that was of secondary nature in that matter.

Vlad’s feelings were something that Danny had only considered as far as necessary when he’d hatched his plan to come here, but right now they felt like a divider cracking a chasm between them just a little wider.

He could tell that Vlad was more furious than hurt – or maybe one fuelled the other and it was like a horrible emotion-driven perpetuum mobile – but he could also tell that Vlad seemed to be mostly angry with himself. At least as of this moment.

Carefully Danny watched each twitch of Vlad’s expression, the rest of his body seeming almost frozen otherwise, for a sign that it was safe to approach him. Uncertain of what Vlad would see when he looked at him now.

Perhaps that was why he avoided it so pointedly right now too, Danny thought because Vlad hadn’t lifted his eyes off the carpet for a good while and whenever he did he did his damndest not to look at him.

“I won’t do anything,” he grumbled, and folded his arms. Obviously frustrated with the fact that his instinct was counteractive to what he wanted.

“But you want to.” Danny observed the obvious. When Vlad cautiously glanced at him he added, “… I get it, kind of.” He’d never really thought about it but it had been more than just the ecto-acne, it was that grimy, uncomfortably feeling of wanting to turn yourself inside out because of what you were. “For fuck’s sake she’s my mum,” Danny blurted out when Vlad stared at him almost incredulously. “I’m half-ghost too! She’d dissect me before I’d get a chance to explain myself if she ever caught me in ghost form. I lived in a house that was out to get me. That _she_ helped build.”

Silently Vlad stood and listened and now watched him.

“I _get_ it,” Danny replied quietly. Averting his eyes, he transformed back into a human and let his feet sink onto the carpet. It wasn’t something that he liked to talk about, because it touched that frightened little part deep down in the centre of his chest that he just couldn’t shake. No matter how many times he told himself that they would accept him

A faint almost-smile showed at the corner of Vlad’s mouth. “You’re her son,” he replied firm and quiet. “Her _child_ , I don’t think she’s as cruel as you fear, besides you’ve only ever done _good_ – I’ve only made other people’s lives miserable.” And his own too, but pointing that out now seemed cruel.

“You’re making _mine_ a little better right now…” Despite his uncertainty Danny tried to smile, for he meant his words.

Pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose Vlad straightened himself with a deep breath. He muttered something that Danny couldn’t quite make out but it seemed friendly. “I won’t let _either_ of them harm you,” he muttered just loud enough for Danny to hear. With a resolve in his words that raised the question what it might cost to ignore his feelings like that.

Cautiously Danny placed his hand on Vlad’s shoulder and earned an equally questioning and surprised look for it. He wasn’t really sure why he’d done it, but it had felt right and Vlad’s expression only seemed to confirm that for him. “I know that.”

With a deep breath Vlad let out a quiet growl. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “I’m fine…” _Thank you_. He didn’t need to say it for Danny to know that he wanted to. “So what is it that you do during this time of year?”

“Eat junk food, watch shitty horror movies and hope that nobody notices my absence.”

“That… doesn’t so bad actually…” Vlad had to admit. “Does that mean you _wouldn’t_ want your present if I had one for you?”

“Only if you argue with a picture of mum about the existence of Santa.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint I don’t share your father’s beliefs.” Vlad replied dryly. “You’ll have to wait a little however.”

**VLAD**

Thoughtfully Clockwork stood before him. To Vlad it almost seemed like he was making a show out of it.

It had been hard enough for him to ask in the first place, but it seemed only fair in the greater scheme of things.

“Alright,” Clockwork agreed and went to retrieve one of his amulets. “I believe you already know how to use this, but if you want to go back simply take it off and it will open a portal back to my realm.”

With a nod Vlad took the amulet form his hand, surprised by how warm his skin felt when they briefly touched. But that too was a matter for another day.

“Did you have anything particular in mind?”

Admittedly, Vlad hadn’t thought that far, he hadn’t even been sure whether the Master of Time would agree in the first place. “Sometime he’s old enough to remember on his own, seven, eight… maybe nine… that should work,” he replied thoughtfully and watched as Clockwork swiped his fingers over the portal. Flashes of memories passed by too quick to really make out what was going on, and if he hadn’t known that they were Danny’s he wouldn’t have recognised him as fast as they went by.

“Are you certain?” Clockwork asked.

Vlad weighed the amulet in his hand. It was lighter than he had imagined, seemingly only growing heavier when he put it around his neck. He’d been looking for one of them since Danny had shown him the one he’d worn at the hospital. But this wasn’t how he’d expected to get his hands on one.

Danny had made his life a little better. _Perhaps_ just perhaps he could return the favour now.

Uncertain he lifted his gaze from the amulet to look at Clockwork.

He wasn’t.

There were a lot of things that Vlad was good at, but this wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t sure what he would say or how Danny might react. He wouldn’t be able to show himself as Vlad Masters, or his parents would recognise him. And if they recognised him as a ghost they would immediately hunt him down.

But if he could make this holiday a little less awful for him, then it was worth all the uncertainty. “No, just…” Danny deserved something in return for what he’d done. Even if all he could do was distract him from his parents and their argument.

**DANNY**

Somewhere in between Vlad leaving him to his own devices and waiting for him to come back he’d fallen asleep. Danny had meant to look for some movies and find something to eat first so he could hole himself up in Vlad’s office for at least the next couple days, but he’d only made it as far as the couch in the living room, where he’d found a blanket that he had meant to carry around as a cape but instead had convinced him to lie down and close his eyes. 

Wrapped up in the tranquillity of feeling separated from the rest of the world in the best way possible Danny blinked his eyes open to the sound of the TV and someone screaming. However he couldn’t find it in himself to be concerned and simply burrowed his nose into the pillow.

Which wasn’t a pillow.

It was Vlad who’d made himself comfortable on the couch, right next to him and exactly the kind of motivation that Danny needed to blink his eyes open. Weary and immediately distracted by the flicker of the TV he spent a good few minutes trying to figure out what the movie, that Vlad had picked out, was about but it was to no avail just like his attempt at waking up.

“I can’t fathom why you’d want to watch this,” Vlad muttered, when he noticed that Danny was somewhat awake.

“Because it’s terrible,” Danny muttered back and shifted to get comfortable.

There was a part of him that he was leaning onto Vlad way more comfortably than he should have been, but unfortunately his body was too tired to obey and admittedly, he hadn’t expected Vlad to be so warm and solid, that it was almost reassuring.

It was like something in the back of his mind glimmered into life as he tried to focus on the movies. It shifted like something alive, although it felt like nothing more than a memory to him.

_Remember_ , it said.

But when he tried to grasp it, it slipped out of his hands.

_Remember_. Because that was the promise he’d made.

Danny closed his eyes, his brows lightly furrowed when the glimmer became stronger, seemingly forming something tangible. He blinked his eyes open, staring at the TV without taking in any of what went on.

It wasn’t exactly a memory. It was new, but it presented itself as a memory, neatly slotting itself into place with the rest of them because it belonged with them anyone. Danny knew that.

Once more he closed his eyes. This time the flicker in his mind was vivid enough for colours and pictures and sounds. It was bright where it should have been dreary. Brighter at least than he was used to.

Biting his lip Danny watched the movie, uncertain whether Vlad wanted him to say anything about it. It was more that he would have expected from him. More than he would have asked for. Carefully Danny glanced up to gauge Vlad’s expression before blindly grabbing a slice of pizza from the box. Briefly wondering if his hunger had woken him instead of the scream.

He remembered an awkward vampire who’d visited him on Christmas when he had been seven. An awkward vampire who’d insisted he was a ghost and had managed to remind him a little about what was supposed to be fun about Christmas. Who’d devoted his attention him in his parents’ stead. Who Jazz had said wasn’t real when he’d told her about him. But the hug had felt real when he’d been too upset to speak because his parents had overlooked him once again in favour of their argument.

He’d never really bothered to figure to out what he wanted other than for his parents to stop arguing. But Danny was fairly certain that he could get used to _this_. Perhaps _they_ could get used to this.

Thoughtfully chewing he stretched his legs to get more comfortable. “This is enough,” he muttered in between bites.

“Enough?”

“Hm-mh,” Danny hummed and kept the pizza between his teeth as he sat up a little more. “You’n me. Like this,” he continued and finished the slice in a few large bites. His fingers brushed the fangs in his mouth but this time they didn’t bother him. Sleep had wrapped him in a bubble of comfort that didn’t want to leave him, and Danny slouched against the couch instead of Vlad now. “I appreciate the effort, but you don’t have to go as far and change my memories for the better, I’d rather…” Danny muttered something incomprehensible and pulled his knees up so he could hide behind them. “I’d rather make new ones.” He admitted. “Like this.”

Vlad who had previously only glanced at him turned his head now, looking strangely thoughtful before a brief little smile spread across his fine. The little crease in brows seemed to ask if he meant that however.

With a grin Danny sat up again and mused with a sly expression, “I think my holidays need a little _vampiric_ touch.”

“I’m not–” Vlad looked positively exasperated and Danny couldn’t help the laugh that came from his lips. Promptly he was caught in a headlock. “I’ll show you vampire,” Vlad growled, but it was more playful than aggressive.

Which didn’t do much to make Danny stop laughing. Vlad’s fangs were showing and there was a faint glow in his eyes but there was nothing threatening about it. Mirroring his demeanour Danny bared his fangs in a grin, wondering if Vlad had ever drawn blood with his. Instead of doing that however he uncomfortably ruffled Danny’s hair, which still made him laugh a little.

“Vampire enough?”

Danny wiggled himself out of Vlad’s grip and ran a hand through his hair to tame the tousled strands a little. “Vampire enough,” he confirmed with a little grin that showed his fangs. “This movie is awful,” Danny remarked glancing at the TV. “Not even fun-awful.”

“Grotesque,” Vlad agreed earnestly. “But _why_ do I feel the need to know how it ends?”

“It’s the _magic_ of shitty movies,” Danny snorted amused and grabbed another slice of pizza. “You’ll learn to love it.”


End file.
